The Cursed
Description (aka Marked or Immortal) A Cursed individual is one who has been reanimated using a specific kind of Necromantic ritual but usually involves the application of sigils somewhere on the body. This can change from culture to culture. In Oriental magic, the sigil is often placed on the forehead. In Voodoo it is a charm worn about the neck coupled with the application of a liquid mixture. In Western Necromancy, the sigil can be placed anywhere on the body. A distinct quality of the Cursed is that the victim may not even have to have died in order for this spell to take effect. Signs of a Cursed include lack of a pulse or brain activity, but the individual remains as they had in life. In effect, they are immortal, unable to age, but also never growing hungry, tired or experience any other bodily functions or needs. Individuals afflicted with this state still report to being able to feel sensations, however, muted they may be. This includes the sensation of pain, which is greatly dulled, sometimes to the point of not being able to feel it all. Like Ghouls, this often leads to them inadvertently inflicting physical harm upon themselves and many have unhealing sores on their legs and feet from where they may stumble into things. They are also very difficult to dispatch even when parsed into several parts or if the head is removed from the body. Only disintegration through the use of fire or acids can free a Cursed from their reanimated death or otherwise a specific kind of ritual can be performed in order to reverse the effects. Cursed are also prone to Ghoul-like outbursts in which they crave living flesh. These are most often triggered by taking on a substantial amount of damage, typically through the aggression of another. They will not fly into a ghoul-like rage upon banging their knee upon a table, but stand an increased chance if someone punches them hard enough. Most injuries that break the skin are likely to cause enough distress to trigger this response. An older Cursed, however, may be able to resist the urge initially, but will eventually succumb to it if enough damage is inflicted. During this state they are rabid and nearly impossible to stop until they receive what they seek at which point they were return to their original state and will remember the chaos they wrought. Furthermore, the eating of raw flesh also encourages the healing of any wounds they may have accumulated. Upon devouring a meal, the injury will quickly begin to mend, faster than any mortal’s. This is the only time a Cursed can heal themselves without direct magical aid. The approach of these fits can be detected by the Cursed and so proper precautions can be taken. At first, the Cursed may feel restless and in need of something but are unaware as to what it could be. Eventually, this state heightens and becomes more severe until it seems to drive the individual mad and instinct takes over. Eating flesh - even right away - can stave off this urge. If they do succumb to it, however, eating enough flesh with which to heal themselves will bring them out of it. Cursed also have the ability to absorb memories from ingesting the brain of a living thing. They will undergo something called "Dreaming" in which, soon after devouring the brain matter, they will appear to drift off, staring into space, while they relive the memory and absorb it into their own mind. This can be a useful way of uncovering information from the deceased but may take a few tires until the right memory is consumed. Cursed who have eaten many memories, however, have been known to go insane, but this can take hundreds of years and memories to accumulate, and many are put down long before it becomes a problem. Cursed can also be brought about using a specific kind of spell in which a soul is drawn into a newly dead body. The soul does not have to be the one that originally inhabited the body either. However, the amount of time that this ritual can be performed is very short and must be done within minutes of the body having deceased. Zombies and Ghouls do not have souls but are kept animate through magic. If the ritual is somehow botched, the individual may not reawaken at all, may come back to life as a Ghoul, or the soul that was summoned back to inhabit the body may only reach halfway, thus becoming entangled in the veil that separates one world from the next. (See Revenant.) Cursed have also manifested through the use of certain Artifacts, whether intended or not. But, generally, they require a specific ritual, ingredients for the ritual, and two to three magicians. Historically, however, there have been those who successfully raised a Cursed without the aid of others, but these individuals were either unusually talented or were in possession of an Artifact. The rate of success of raising a Cursed can be increased by the number of participants. Bones: 5, unless the character is a werewolf, in which case it would depend on the character's build. Category:Undead Category:Bestiary Category:Enemy Lexicon